New Delhi: India on Monday thanked the US for its “firm support” in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir last month, with both countries agreeing that “Pakistan needs to take concerted action to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure and to deny safe haven to all terrorist groups in its territory”.
The two sides held talks during the ongoing three-day visit of foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale to Washington when he met US secretary of state Michael R. Pompeo.
The meeting took close to India “asking the US to examine whether the use of F-16 jets by Pakistan against India is in accordance with the terms and conditions of sale”, an issue highlighted by New Delhi after a recent dogfight between fighter aircraft of the Indian and Pakistani Air Forces on February 27 in which the PAF used F-16s equipped with missiles against the IAF.
The MEA said that Mr Pompeo also made a reference to bilateral trade matters during the talks in response to which “foreign secretary (Gokhale) underscored the significant reduction in trade deficit in the last three years”.
In a statement from Washington, the MEA said, “Foreign secretary conveyed appreciation to the US government and to secretary Pompeo personally for the firm support that India received from the US in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Pulwama”
The two also agreed that those who support or abet terrorism in any form should be held accountable, it said.
Mr Gokhale’s visit comes as India intensifies its efforts to declare Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council.
The MEA said, “They (Mr Gokhale and Mr Pompeo) expressed satisfaction over the significant progress and the quality of the India-US strategic partnership since Mr Pompeo’s visit to India in September 2018 for the first ever ministerial 2+2 dialogue. The foreign secretary and secretary Pompeo also discussed other issues of mutual interest including Afghanistan and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, and agreed to closely work together in this regard.”
